The award-winning Discovering Antarctica website was developed by the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers, in partnership with the British Antarctic Survey, with support from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959, which puts all territorial claims on hold ? so no-one actually owns Antarctica. It has been set aside as a scientific preserve, and military activity is prohibited in the region.

The Antarctic is 48 times the size of the UK (14.4 million sq km). It is the world's only uninhabited continent.

Antarctica - the facts

It was an amazing, amazing place. Something about Antarctica captured me, and I wanted to go back.